Territory



(N0 Mode 1.),

J. TREWEEK.

MINING CHAIR AND INDIGATING MECHANISM. No. 394,944,

UNTTE STATES PATENT EETcE.

JOSEPH TREIVEEK, OF IrlAD (ITY, DAKOTA TERRITORY.

MINING-CHAIR AND INDICATING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,944, dated December 18, 1888.

Application filedaluly 17, 1888. Serial No. 80,213 (N0 model-l To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH TREWEEK, a citizen of the United St ates, residing at Lead City, in the county of Lawrence, Territory of Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in MiningUhairs and Indicating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation to miningchairs, and among the objects in view are to provide an easilyoperated chair for use in the shafts of mines at each of the several sta: tions, whereby the cage or elevator-car willbe supported at any of the stations for delivering or receiving a load.

-A furtl'ier object of the invention is to provide an indicating mechanism, located at the top of the shaft and in the engine room, whereby the position of each of the chairs within the shaft is apparent to the engineer, so that all accidental collisions of the car with the chairs may be obviated.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a cage-indicator located at the top of the shaft and in the engii'ie-room and in proximity to the first-mentioned chair-indicator, whereby the cngiuecnin charge may ascertain the exact location of the cage.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a mine-shaft provided with chairs and indicators constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail in side elevation of the chair-indieator; and Fig. 2) is a sim ilar detail, the indicator being closed.

. Similar numeralsof reference indicate similar parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 represents the engine-room or surface of the ground, and 1 the mine-shaft, in which are arranged the usual vertical cage guides or beams, 2 3, having a series of cross bars or beams, 4, and stations 5.

6 represents the elevator or cage, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) which is operated vertically within the guides 2 and 3 by the usual mechanism, the rope of the cage passing over the drum 8. (Also shown in dotted lines in said figure.) In this instance I have shown only one station; but it will be understood that there are several stations located at suitable At each of the stations, and pivoted, as at 9, either to the beams 2 and 3 or to the crossbeams 4, are the mining-chairs l0 and 11, one at each side of the shaft, the upper ends of which are adapted to be projected, as hereinafter described, in the path of the cage and to support the same when delivering or receiving a load. The upper end of the chair 10 is pivotally connected with the lower end of the chair 1i by a rod, 12, and the lower end of the first-mentioned chair is likewise connected to the lower end of a lever, 13, by a rod, it. The lever 13 is pivoted, as at- 15, to the vertical guide 2 or adjacent framework, and is normally held in a vertical position by a retracting-spring, 16, connected to its lowerend and to the guide 2 or other portion of the shaft. A pawl, 17, is pivoted to the lever 13 above the station-floor 5, and is adapted to fall by gravity into a catch, 18, secured to the floor, and thus retain the lever against the tension of the coiled retractingspring 16.

As thus far described, it is evident that by operating the lever 13 the chairs 1t) and 11 may be projected into the path of the cage and retained in that position by means of the pawl 17, and that by releasing the pawl from its catch 18 said chairs will be returned by the spring to their normal position.

Many accidents daily occur in mines by reason of the chairs being inadvertently left projecting into the shafts, and the engineer, not. being aware of their position, lowers the cage for the purpose of receiving or delivering a cargo below or above such inad verten tlyleft chairs, and the consequence is that a collision occurs, which destroys and damages the machinery and is liable to kill or maim any one upon the elevator. By my invention, as I will now procecal to describe, I avoid all such contingencies by providing an indicating mechanism to be stationed in the engineroom, so that whenever a chair is thrown into the shaft the fact of its position will be instantly made known to the engineer, who, by other mechanism hereinafter described, will know the position of the elevator, and consequently retard his elevator at the point that the chair is projected and wait for some oneeither the passenger or station attendantto withdraw the chair and signal him to prooecd.

18 represents an indicator stand or box, which is prelim-ab] y provided with a door, 20, and is located in the engine-room, and is provided with a series of cross pieces or bars, 21, agreeing in numliier with the number of chambers or stations in the mine.

Extending transversely across the stand 18 are cross-pieces 21, in which are journaled transverse shafts 22, at the outer ends of which are fixed indicatm-s, the ends of said shafts extending through one wall of the casing. \Vithin the case and mounted upon each of the shafts 22 are weighted (-zc'cei'itric levers 23, provided with stops 21, adapted to come in contact with the cross-bars 21 and arrest the rotative movement of said levers.

From each of the levers 23 there extends a wire, 25, to the lower ends of which are connected bell-crank levers 26, pivoted in series upon a transverse shaft, 27, mounted below the floor of the engine-room. Between each. of the levers it; there is located a separatingdog, 28. From each of the bell-crank levers :36 there extends a wire, 2.), the opposite end of which is connected with one end of a second series of bcll-crank levers, 30, pivoted in brackets 31, secured to one of the shaft-beams at the mouth of the shaft. From the opposite end of each 01: the series of bell-crank levers 30 there extends a series of wires, 31*, one of each of the wires extending to the upper end of a hand-lever, 13, at each of the series of stations, said wires passing over suitable pulleys, 1:32, provided at suitable points for their guidance.

A coiled spring, 33;, serves to retract the bell-crank levers 26, and the levers 30 are weighted at their rear end to equalize the weight of the wires, each of the levers being independei'itly adjustable for that purpose, and in accordance with the length of wire to which it connected, by having a series of apertures, 34, bored therein, through which the bearing-pin may be inserted, thus throw ing more or less weight into the rear end of said levers.

By the construction described it evident that by drawing back the lever 13 at any of the stations the chairs at that point will be proj eeted into the path of the elevator or cage, and that the indicator corresponding with that station will be turned, so as to indicate that fact to the engineer.

Having described my invention and its operation, what I claim is 1. The comliiination, in a mining-shaft having stations and having pivoted chairs located at said stations, of indicating mechanism mounted above the shaft and connectedwith the chairs, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, in a miningshal't having stations, of chairs located at the stations, a lever for operating the same, and indicating mechanism mounted above the shaft and connected with said lever, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, in a mining-shaft having stations and having pivoted chairs at said stations, of levers for operating the same, and indicating mechanism mounted above the shaft and independently connected with each of the chairs, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, in a mining-shaft having stations, of oppositely-arranged pivoted and connected mining-chairs, a lever for operatin g the same, having a retract-ingspring and a pawl, a stop for the pawl, and a series of independent indicators connected with the lever and mounted above the shaft, substantially as specified.

The combination, in a mining-shaft having a series of stations, of oppositely-arranged pivoted levers connected with each other and located at each of said stations, a lever for operating the said. chairs, indicating mechanism mounted above the shaft and connected with each of said chairs, and a series of independent weighted adjustable bell-crank levers arranged intern'ied'iate the chairs and indicators, substantially as specified.

6. The combination, in a mining-slntlt having stations, of pivoted chairs located at the stations, independent weighted indicators mounted above the shaft, and independent wires leading from the indicator to each oi said chairs, st'ibstantially as specified.

7. The combination, with the beams 2 and 3, having the station 5, of the levers 10 and 11, pivoted, as at t], to the beams and connected by the rod 12, and the hand-lever 13, pivoted, as at 15, and connected to the chair 10 by the rod 14-, and having the retractings il'ring 16 and pawl 17, adapted to be thrown into connection with the stop 1 S, substantially as specified.

8. The indicating-box 18, having the crosspieces 21, and shaft 2;, carrying indicators mounted therein, and n'iini'ng-chairs, in combinat ion with the weighted cam-levers 23, haw ing stops 24, and wires connecting said ea1nlevers to said miuiug-chairs, substantially as specified.

t). The combination, with the cam-levers 23, mounted upon shafts 22, carrying indicators and having the wires 25, of the series of bell crank levers 26, journaled on the shaft 27, the wires 29, leading from the levers and connected to the weighted adjustaliile levers 30, mounted in brackets 31, the wires 31* and pulley 32, and the lever 13 connected to the chairs 10 and 11 by the rods It and 12, and having the retracting-spring 1(5 and pawl 17 and stop 18, substantially as specified.

In. testimony 'wh ereot I at'li x my signature in PIGSOTIOG 01" two witnesses.

J ()SEPII TRE \VEE K.

\\'i tn esses:

THOMAS .1'. Grace, ALEXANDER LAWIE. 

